Saxony-Anhalt election: AfD could take government power for the first time since 1945

Magdeburg. There have been more than 240 state elections since the Federal Republic was founded, but this one is special. In Saxony-Anhalt, after the vote on Sunday, a right-wing party could come to government power for the first time since the Second World War - an explosive scenario that the leading international media are also paying attention to in detail. What you should know when choosing:

Almost 1.7 million eligible voters can vote on which parties and people will sit for them in the new state parliament. In each of the 41 constituencies they elect a direct candidate with their first vote. In addition, 42 additional MPs are usually selected via the second vote.

In the 8th electoral term, which is now coming to an end, the following are represented in the Magdeburg state parliament: CDU, AfD, the Left, SPD as well as the FDP and the Greens. All of these parties are running for re-election. There are also nine other state election proposals, including the BSW founded by Sahra Wagenknecht, the Free Voters, Volt and the Animal Welfare Party.

The other parties have also put forward top candidates, but according to the surveys they have virtually no chance of being elected as head of government. For the Left, this is parliamentary group leader Eva von Angern, for the SPD, Science Minister and former university rector Armin Willingmann. The Greens have put the trained health and nursing nurse Susan Sziborra-Seidlitz forward. The FDP relies on state leader Lydia Hüskens, the BSW on the duo Thomas Schulze and Claudia Wittig.

The AfD is likely to be by far the strongest force, which means it can lay claim to the office of prime minister and the leadership of the government. The party, which the state Office for the Protection of the Constitution has classified as right-wing extremist, is aiming for a sole government. But if it does not win its own majority of seats, it will have to rely on alliance partners. But: None of the other parties want to form a coalition with her. However, BSW founder Wagenknecht has announced that her party could certainly help an AfD prime minister to power - by abstaining in the decisive ballot. AfD leader Siegmund asserts that he does not want such a scenario.

If a minority government led by the CDU is formed, it could also rely on votes from the left - similar to what happened in Saxony and Thuringia. The Left was recently at 13 percent in surveys. The political problem: In a party conference resolution, the CDU rejects a coalition or similar forms of cooperation with the Left as well as with the AfD.

The dominant, overarching theme was the prospect that the AfD, a party classified as right-wing extremist by the state Office for the Protection of the Constitution, could come to government power. The SPD, for example, advertised “foresight instead of slogans”, the CDU warned that Saxony-Anhalt “should not become a test laboratory”. The Left called itself the “pole of hope” against the shift to the right, the Greens posted posters: “Saxony-Anhalt is our home and must not become a test laboratory.”

In terms of content, in addition to migration policy - the AfD called for stopping the "asylum chaos" - the topic was, among other things the education policy. The AfD's plan to weaken compulsory schooling and allow parents to teach their children at home was particularly controversial.

The polling stations in around 2,600 electoral districts are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. In the style of US President Donald Trump, the AfD had sowed doubts about the correct process in recent weeks. Top candidate Ulrich Siegmund called for people to take a closer look at the counting at the polling stations and also at postal voters in nursing homes, because older people are often “directed in their hands”. At the same time, he frankly admitted that he had no evidence for his claim.

Looking is practically no problem, because according to the electoral regulations, everyone has access to the voting room - during the day while voting is being cast, and later from 6 p.m. when the counting takes place publicly and the electoral board determines the result. That's five to nine citizens that the municipality has appointed from the electoral district. Around 22,000 election workers are on duty throughout Saxony-Anhalt.

According to the state constitution, the new state parliament must meet for the first time no later than the thirtieth day after the election, i.e. on October 6th. Then the terms of office of the ministers and the head of government end. However, they are obliged to continue their official duties until their successors take over.

The first session is opened by the senior president, the member of parliament who has been represented in the state parliament for the longest time. He or she chairs the meeting until a new state parliament president is elected. According to the rules of procedure, the strongest group proposes a representative for election as president. The three strongest factions also each propose a vice president. However, the political groups can also agree differently on the distribution of proposal rights. The person who receives the majority of the valid votes cast is elected.

The Prime Minister is elected by secret ballot without debate. There is no deadline by which this must happen. The person who receives the votes of the majority of members in the first round of voting is elected. If the election does not work on the first attempt, deadlines apply: another round of voting must take place within seven days. If the election does not take place, the state parliament will decide within another fourteen days whether the electoral period will be ended early. If this is not decided by the majority of the members of the state parliament, another round of voting will take place immediately. The person who receives the majority of the votes cast is then elected.